Ukrainian ambassador says if country fails ‘brutality, oligarchy and war criminals prevail’

Ukrainian Ambassador to the U.S. Oksana Markarova on Sunday said that a failure to preserve Ukraine’s sovereignty against Russia’s invasion would mean that “brutality, oligarchy and war criminals prevail on our planet.”

Appearing on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” Markarova said a surrender to Russia was not on the table and the potential for recognizing the eastern Ukrainian region of Donbas as an independent state was not possible.

“There is no independent republics on the territory of Ukraine. Russia attacked us in 2014. Russia illegally occupied Crimea and part of Donetsk and Luhansk. Russia, illegally, are waging full fledged war on the independent country now,” Markarova said.

“I think we shouldn’t ask Ukraine what we are ready to give up in order for Russia to stop this aggression. All of us should be asking each what are we prepared to do to stop it,” she added. “Because if we lose this, it’s very important — If Ukraine loses it, it’s not only your friends lost, it means that brutality, oligarchy and war criminals prevail on our planet.”

Markarova reiterated that Ukraine is not asking that other countries send in their forces to fight against Russia on their behalf, but said her country needed an “unstoppable flow of supplies from everyone who’s willing to give it to us in order to win.”